The Lost Steersman is the long-awaited sequel to
Kirstein's The Steerswoman (1989) and The Outskirter's Secret
(1992), recently reissued in one volume as The Steerswoman's
Road. The new book continues the Steerswoman Rowen's delving
into the secrets of her world, its geography, its peoples, its
magic, etc. This is the work of the Steerswomen: acquiring and
sharing knowledge. The book's title presents an immediate
question: In what sense is the Steersman lost? In not knowing
where he is? Being hidden, i.e. lost to others' awareness of his
location? Being metaphorically "lost," confused, lost in his
imaginings? But as Rowen looks into the mystery surrounding the
Steersman, she also learns, and reveals to the reader, much more
of the nature of her world. Perhaps in another book or two, the
reader will know enough to understand where the whole series
takes place; there's already plenty of evidence that it's not on
Earth, though the people have a cultural history that goes back
to our own, and the "magic" is actually some kind of advanced
technology.

Kirstein treats us to some delightful and telling glimpses
of human nature: When Rowan takes up temporary residence at the
Annex in Alemeth, she is constantly compared to Mira, the
previous Steerswoman at the Annex, and faulted for not being
"like Mira," who did nothing useful either for the town or the
Annex, but hung around the local tavern and acted witchy. And
when Rowan first encounters Janus in Alemeth, he gives her a long
story about how he's a coward; and, following her assumptions and
values, she tries to find a way for him to deal with this
cowardice and resume his old life.

This whole series works well as a mystery for the
Steerswoman to solve and the reader to follow. The wanderings of
the Steerswomen (and occasional men), each on her or his own, up
and down the land, collecting information from everyone they
meet, and then bringing it together to try to piece it into an
understanding of the world they live in and the people who live
there, strikes an immediate sympathy in the reader, who wants to
know where the books are set and why things are as they are.